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Hornet (Q2)
Defence/Weapon Analysis: Boss In Quake 2, The Guardian, also known as the Flying Boss '''and '''Hornet, is a special class of Strogg above that of even the Tank Commander, rivaled only by the Tank Boss and the Makron himself. They are an insectoid creature (thus the name Hornet). They appear to have a human head and torso popping out a large bug like body with 6 insect type legs dangling down. The Hornet has two very large bloodied pincers above its head where the twin chainguns hang from. Despite being coverd in blood, the Hornet never uses them to fight the player. They have the ability of flight like Icarus, furthering the idea of an insect is the wasp like noise its two jets make to enable this flight. As well as twin-chainguns, the Hornet has a rocketlauncher placed beneath its body that fires 4 rockets at once. Only three Hornets are encountered in Quake 2, only one of which the player actully has to kill. The player's first encounter is inside the Big Gun and it must be destroyed to continue. One will also be found guarding the main hangar but it can be left alone if the player runs past it and exits the hanger before it catches up with him/her. The third one is a secret level which the player can completely avoid anyway. Combat Charactistics The Hornet is by far one of the most toughest enemies in the game. Whilst other difficult enemies such as the Tank have limited abilities, like the slow Rocket animation and the Machine Gun that has no aim, the Hornet is able to deliver powerful attacks without delay and only a veteren player will able to tell when its about to attack. There are only a handful Hornets in the game so unlike other enemies, the player can't get use to this fight so it makes it even more difficult. Twin-Chaingun Similar to the Enforcer's chaingun prosphetic but there is no delay in firing, and theres two. Quad-Rocket Launcher Fires 4 rockets in one go. The rockets come in together instead of hitting 4 seperate places, dealing imense damage. Strategies The one and only time the player must face the Hornet is during the Big Gun hub. When the Hornet appears, two Flyers will also arrive to back it up. It is advised to take the lift up to the balcony where two pillars offer cover from the Hornet (who appears to prefer to stay on the far side of the room). Aim and shoot the Flyers first because they will close the gap and can be annoying if they are constantly shooting you as you target the Hornet. Once the Flyers are down, take pot shots at the Hornet in between its own attacks and take cover when it does attack. Strafing is a good way to avoid the chaingun fire whilst being able to return fire at the same time but it is good to keep the pillars nearby so that the player can take cover from the powerful rocket attack. Once the Hornet is defeated, access to the Big Gun's destruction is granted.